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| U.S. President Donald Trump / Reuters |
By Jung Min-ho
The U.S. government is considering military action against North Korea if the regime finishes building a nuclear missile capable of reaching the U.S. mainland, CNN reported Friday (KST).
CNN cited multiple sources with knowledge of the administration's latest thinking.
According to the network, U.S. senior security officials believe a nuclear armed Pyongyang is an unacceptable risk to the U.S., given that advanced nuclear weapons could end up in the hands of other unpredictable states such as Iran, Pakistan and Libya.
That prospect, the officials believe, is ultimately a bigger threat to the U.S. than risking military action to thwart Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions.
"All the damage that would come from a war would be worth it in terms of long-term stability and national security," Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican who has had multiple conversations with President Donald Trump about North Korea, told CNN.
For South Korea, however, the possible U.S. attacks on North Korea ― whether at "bloody nose" level or more destructive ― is an unaffordable risk to its security and economy.
The South Korean government has been trying hard to convince North Korea to come to the negotiation table after the PyeongChang Olympics, which successfully and peacefully ended on Feb. 25.
Some reports suggest that North Korea may be just a year or less away from developing a nuclear warhead small enough to fit on a missile that could hit the U.S. mainland.
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